Common Monsters
Barghest The barghest resembles an oversized mastiff, either pure white or pure black. Its short fur lies flat on its body, creating the impression that its hide is naked, and spines protrude the length of its back. Its eyes shine red, and its teeth glow slightly in the dark because of luminescent bacteria in its saliva. It hunts alone or in pairs during breeding season; at other times it hunts in packs of twelve or more. Various corps have attempted to domesticate the barghest as a guard animal, but results so far have been hit-or-miss. Natural Habitat: North America and northern Europe, with particular concentration in the northern British Isles. Barghests have also been spotted in urbanized areas that were formerly part of the British Empire, such as Australia, Hong Kong, and Nairobi. Devil Rat Completely hairless, the nocturnal devil rat grows up to a meter in length (including tail) and weighs as much as 4 kilograms. Hunting in packs of up to thirty individuals, their prolific breeding rate, combined with their innate immunity to most poisons, makes exterminating them nearly impossible. Natural Habitat: Urban areas worldwide. Ghoul Ghouls are metahumans infected with the Krieger strain of the Human-Metahuman Vampiric Virus (HMHVV). The virus causes the victim to lose all body hair. The skin becomes a rough, scabrous hide, and the fingers elongate, with the nails hardening into claws. Teeth become sharper and more pronounced, while the eyes develop a white film of cataracts. The transformation destroys the victim’s intellect in some cases, but many ghouls remain quite intelligent. Ghouls feed on the necrotized flesh of metahumans, along with that of other animals. They tend to hunt in packs of anywhere from six to twenty. They live in isolated areas apart from humans and metahumans, but close enough for them to feed on the dead. Graveyards, mortuaries, and illegal chop shops are common ghoul haunts. Natural Habitat: Settled areas worldwide. Hell Hound The hell hound is a coal-black dog with redrimmed eyes, standing 0.9 meters at the shoulder and weighing more than 100 kilograms. An efficient predator, the hell hound hunts in well-coordinated packs, but rarely takes on anything larger then itself, and uses its ability to breathe fire against significant threats. Natural Habitat: Primarily woodland areas of North America, but also anywhere domesticated dogs are present. Thunderbird A day creature, the thunderbird resembles a red-brown eagle, but with a wingspan around 3 meters. Able to generate and project a lightning blast, the thunderbird relishes the static-charged air of electrical storms. Natural Habitat: North America and northern Asia. Vampire Vampires are humans infected with HMHVV. Vampires prey on sentient beings, absorbing the life essence of their victims along with the victim’s blood. More conscientious than other infected metahumans, vampires are able to restrain their hunger. Some vampires refuse to drain from an unwilling subject, while others revel in their role as predators and killers. Vampires become sick within the hour if they consume anything but blood, and they have particularly bad reactions to alcohol. Many vampires display magical ability, and the transformation sometimes unlocks hidden magical potential. Such vampires are capable of learning and using magic just like a human. Vampire sorcerers are most likely the source of some legendary vampiric powers, such as the ability to change into animals or to mesmerize victims. Natural Habitat: Habitated areas worldwide. Wendigo A wendigo is an ork infected with HMHVV. It appears as a white-furred humanoid standing about 2.3 meters tall. The nails of its hands have hardened into claw-like weapons, and the canine teeth are very pronounced on both the lower and upper jaws. Wendigos feed on the flesh of humans and metahumans, from which they also derive psychic sustenance. Typically they induce victims to participate in a cannibalistic feast. This creates an apparent psychological dependence in the victim, who then helps the wendigo in spreading its habit, thus creating a secret society of cannibals. The members of the groups are unaware that they ultimately will become meals for the wendigo, which seems to prefer the Essence of such corrupted spirits. Wendigos are all Awakened and use their magical skills to enhance their hunting. Some wendigos use illusion magic to disguise themselves and walk unseen among their prey. Natural Habitat: Forested and urban areas worldwide. Spirits Spirits are sentient denizens of the astral plane. The spirits described below may be summoned by magicians. There are spirits of the Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Man and Beast.